The Jade-eye Knights
by MaraskaJade
Summary: Inspired by T. Zahn's character, the story introduces the origins of the Jade Legacy in the Sith Empire, while telling the tale of how the family became divided and aligned with Empire and Republic, set against the backdrop of each's personal agenda (as enemies and allies of each other) and each's unique and specific contribution to connected Sith-Jedi stories told in SWTOR.S Alrt
1. A Slave to Fear

The sun beat down harshly on the blinding sands of Korriban. It was a dusty, desolate world, dry, harsh and treacherous. There were no forests or rivers, nor any wildlife, but for the deadly creatures that dwelled beneath the surface. The only natural beauty the planet boasted was its grand mountains. Formidable sights themselves, they intimidated the skyline, as light reflected off the dark-orange rock to create a fire-dance effect, which changed tone as the sun completed its orbit. Centuries ago, the occupiers of this world had used this majesty to create holdfasts, hewn deep and high into the mountains. Over time, though, these great caverns had been lost to the outside world. She was not sure whether she believed it herself, but judging from the effort required to overcome the degree of collapse and erosion, it was clear that someone with military-political influence was bent on its lost and ancient secrets.

Both near and far Kae'rena could hear the chaotic clamour of metal against rock. The excavation crew, to which she had been resourced, had been unearthing this particular ruin for many days. It had been so long already that the monotonous rise and fall of her labours went by unnoticed, with the only reminder being the constant ache in her body. Occasionally, she could hear agonising cries in the distance as her fellow slaves received, what she ironically called, Overseers' Encouragement.

Terror began to spread through her, as she found herself thinking on the injustice of such wanton brutality. How truly lamentable her existence was, she thought, inspiring her inner nihilist to emerge.

She had become so consumed by her thoughts she realised too late that she had involuntarily paused from her work. Although oriented towards the rock face, she still perceived an imperial overseer approaching, but only as faded staccato images, flashing before her mind's eye. The uniform was unmistakeable. Overseers wore black greaves, black trousers, and a grey tunic, gathered at the waist by a utility belt, which, Kae'rena immediately noticed, had no holstered heat-lash. She could not decide whether she had noticed this because she knew disciplinary measures were approaching, or whether she hoped her lapse had not been noticed and simply wanted confirmation. It did not matter. She felt the crack of the weapon across her back, as it burnt through her already torn vest and seared into her flesh. The pain lingered. It lingered even after the lash had given up all its heat, and was removed to be replaced by the smell of her burnt body. The stench would have made her vomit, but for her practised combating of the reflex. She felt disgust for herself. Her weakness revolted her, but she was too afraid to defend what little dignity and self-respect she had. It was unwise for any slave to turn to face an imperial. At least, she had noted well, every time a slave did, the outcome was always the same. As desperate as she was, she was not ready to tread down that path just yet.

The last thing she saw, as the imperial withdrew his weapon and began to step back, was the blue and red squares pinned to his tunic. She did not know whether it had a special meaning, only that they were as red as his eyes and as pale blue as his face. Perhaps it was the military's means of identifying non-human species. It did not matter too much to her. All the overseers, she imagined, looked the same and acted the same. They were as singularly dedicated to their purpose, as she and her damned companions were in their acceptance of their lives' two choices – endure or perish.

"They ensure we know nothing of our surroundings," she thought to herself miserably, as she resumed her work on the ruin. "They could be anywhere, and so they are everywhere. Who would risk being shot for the chance to know something that could be no help at all?" Kae'rena knew she would not be so bold, and at that moment realised just how powerful a weapon fear could be, especially in the hands of the Imperial Military, who exploited it to the fullest. "How does anyone fight an enemy from within?" she pondered, until at last determining she ought to clear her head of these debates, and focus on the task at hand before the imperial returned.

Her efforts continued on the mountain without any further cause for complaint by the overseers. Kae'rena made a conscious effort to remind herself that now was hardly the time for reflection, and she would be far better served to focus on her fate's duties. The wound across her back, however, made this a doubly unpleasant endeavour. Every time she raised herself to strike at the rock, she relived the experience, as her flesh was stretched and released over and over. She kept telling herself all which was needed was to make it to the end of the labour cycle. Although she knew the imperials did not see the need to waste medical supplies on slaves, such a respite from this ongoing torture was a strong motivator. Somehow, somewhere she needed to find the strength to endure this, and took comfort in the knowledge that she had seen out far worse a beating than this. There would be another day for her. Grimacing at the mockery of what a charming prospect another day actually was, Kae'rena agreed it was still better than an early grave.

The light, at last, began to fade. That was not to say that it was darkening. Although Korriban's sun was relatively small in size, it burnt with an intensity rarely matched in the known universe. Feeling a sense of triumph, she allowed herself the rebellion of a brief moment of silent celebration. Breaking time into small, manageable units of measure had been an effective strategy in keeping her spirit from completely conceding. She could not help feeling a sense of pride, as it restored some faith in her insuperable force of will.

As she turned back to see out the last moments of the day, it immediately caught her attention. The rhythmic crushing of gravel under boot had become audible, even from a fair distance away. "Footsteps," she cursed to herself, as she felt the fire in her go out. Whatever insurgence had filled her, she had now been reduced to the scarred, frightened girl again. In her panic, she recounted what action or inaction could have earned the Empire's displeasure. "Nothing!" she answered to herself in desperation.

As she struggled to find answers to calm her anxiety, she took note of something rather odd. The approach of those footsteps was not coming on particularly quickly. Usually the overseers would rally to lash out at the slaves, yet this imperial was clearly in no hurry. She dismissed the thought that he was out to enjoy the scenery almost as quickly as it had occurred to her, while simultaneously admonishing herself for useful suggestions. Yet, the facts were inescapable. The imperial was barely on a leisurely stroll, almost as if he had no specific purpose at all. Kae'rena tried to convince herself that, if she paid it no mind and kept to her labour activity, whoever this was would pass by her. "Yes. I shall do that," she resolved. No sooner, though, did the whole situation turned from merely inexplicable, to utterly bizarre.

The mystery imperial was now being joined by another. This one was clearly in a hurry. From the clumsy sounds of movement, it was almost as if this officer wanted to run as quickly as he could, but kept checking his pace. She likened it to a contest between the indignity of haste and the inadvisability of delay, in stalemate. Then it stopped.

Kae'rena supposed the second had caught up to the first, and heard the one talking to the other. She was too far away to make out what was being said, but judging by how the one was gasping for breath, it was clear who was speaking to whom. She made certain not to draw unwanted attention to herself, while she listened out for any hint of developments between these furtive individuals. Eventually, the conversation came to an end.

Kae'rena had learnt nothing from her attempted eavesdropping, and so reserved her jubilation, which ultimately was shown to be a prudent instinct. Both the imperials now began to walk in her direction, albeit in silence. Apparently, enough had been said. One of the officers stopped, and let the other pass and walk on ahead. She estimated they must have been five metres away from her now. Knowing she was in full view of whoever it was looking on, she gathered every ounce of her dwindling nerve and pounded her tool against the mountain with all possible enthusiasm. She was on guard though. "Just assume hostile intent," she kept repeating, bracing herself. So she listened, analysing everything she could hear. She had filtered out all ambient noise of the excavation site, and was singularly focused on this approaching officer.

Without warning, she realised she felt cold. She felt a rush of adrenaline, her pulse racing, and her heart pounding at her chest. Her throat and mouth were as dry as the sand, as if all the moisture had been forced into three ice cold droplets of sweat, which were now rolling down her face. Fear was the staple of her emotional construct. It was all she could remember feeling, since she was a small child, yet this was something she had never experienced before. It was menacing, malevolent, malicious. The air was heavy to breathe. To hold herself upright became a trial, as her entire musculature began convulsing in dreadful anticipation.

As she looked up to take another strike at the ruin, it was there. The black shadow appeared on the rock face, representing the manifestation of ever negative thought or emotion Kae'rena had. Startled, she struck the shadowy stone as if unconsciously hoping to vanquish the darkness. Her efforts were for naught. The shadow continued to grow bigger, as the man approached her, until finally it stopped. "What is happening?!" Kae'rena screamed silently to herself.

While each moment seemed to last aeons, Kae'rena desperately tried to remain composed. The spectral outline of the cagy figure remained fixed and rigid. He merely stood there and stared at her back. "If this is a senior imperial officer, he will surely see the marks of my recent discipline," she worried to herself. "Perhaps he is here to make an example of me to the other slaves. Perhaps he will order me to be executed, publicly tortured first to embellish the lesson."

While she contemplated any number of terrible things this enigmatic presence may epitomise, to her astonishment and relief, the shadow began to subside and move off. Her psyche was divided on whether to rejoice, or to remain in its state of alarm. There had been no natural conclusion to this encounter, if it had been an encounter at all. "What imperial bothers to come to stare at slaves" she remarked to herself, "unless they have been assigned guard duty?"

If this meeting had been anything, it had been deliberate, but with no apparent outcome. Borne out of sheer desperation, Kae'rena chanced a glance to her right. Apparently, she could be so bold if pushed to it, and for the risk she took all she saw were her fellow labourers going about their work. They were seemingly unperturbed by the shadow, as it crossed their part of the rock face. Although it was diminishing, Kae'rena remained extremely unsettled, as she puzzled over her comrades' bravery in comparison to her immobilising fright. One thing at a once, she thought, muttering how this was not the time for self-exploration. After this near miss, she was even more determined to return to the holding camps, and refused to let anything jeopardise that.

It was, nevertheless, a difficult challenge for Kae'rena to supress the flood of questions raised by her strange rendezvous with the shadow on the wall. Fortunately, she managed to avoid any temptation to ponder them, and shortly she heard the familiar sound of the overseers herding the workers into convoy. It was at last time for the journey back to imperial installation.

The path needed to be taken was more or less devoid of any inclines or declines, but the rocky ground often made the passage a contemptuous one. Kae'rena, and all the others along with her, were bound into one single line by the use of rudimentary chains, passed through rings on magnetic foot shackles. The shackles were made from premium materials, and the chains had the added security feature of carrying an electrical current, which made any attempt at destruction or tampering inadvisable. Kae'rena recalled, when she had been assigned to a work detail on the other side of Korriban several years ago, she had tried to break her chains with a large rock. It turned out to be the precursor of a poorly considered escape attempt. At best, it had been an unpleasant experience, and it could be said to be one of the defining moments of her life, as, since, she had never again considered of the possibility of escape.

It was a long march. Several of her company would no doubt observe the sad inevitability of collapsing along the way, their strength completely spent from the hard toil of the day. Of course, the overseers did not concern themselves with such things. They would indiscriminately lash at the convoy of slaves until the column resumed its advance, and left it to the group to save themselves by helping the weakened. Kae'rena supposed, from the imperial perspective having slaves self-regulate like that was an efficient method. Irrespective, at that point she was not concerned with the misfortune of those without stamina to travel. On the contrary, for her part she welcomed the long walk back to her holding cell. It was an excellent time to put forward all the riddles this latest labour cycle had presented.

At last, everyone was grouped, shackled and chained together. As the column started to move ahead, Kae'rena could finally permit herself to relax her guard somewhat. She took several deep breaths to help calm her mind, and began to consider the implications of recent events. After much debate and internal monologue, she was still no closer to divining an answer. Finally, Kae'rena was forced to concede that her visitor was not part of the regular imperial personnel contingent, assigned to the outpost where she was kept.

After examining a few workable theories, she decided her forerunner was that the man had been an emissary of the high ranking individual, who had ordered the work on the ruin. This seemed to her to be a more than plausible explanation. Whoever it was who was so bent on the contents of the stronghold would naturally want progress reports to be sent by members of their own staff. "Finally, some progress" she thought, just before she felt a body fall onto her back, and stumble for balance.

Besides the added pain from her laceration, this ill-footed fool had put her off her line of thought. She was irritated, and, in truth, quite surprised at her reaction. Usually her natural inclination would have been to avoid confrontation, too afraid to draw attention to herself. It was different on this occasion. She simply had far too important matters on her mind to be distracted by overseers, needing to break up a scuffle, otherwise, she expected, she would have reproached this clumsy oaf, promising more drastic measures should he relapse his recovery. "No," she thought, "now is not the time for this." Resolved to place her contemplations as the priority, she let the incident pass, and returned to her thoughts.

After she had refreshed her memory of the likely identity of the officer, a feeling she had had resurfaced to contradict her conclusion. "That man stopped to glower at me, and he did so deliberately," she conceded. Although there was nothing to confirm or refute it, there was something inside of her which would not let her propose otherwise. It may have been an instinct, or nothing more than her typical paranoia. The effect was the same. She could not shake the idea that she was somehow involved in his promenade, and became convinced of it.

With all the schemes and suppositions racing around her head, Kae'rena was mystified to find that they had arrived at the slave camps in seemingly good time. Her recollection of the trail was it usually felt interminable. On this occasion, it felt like those moments when one wakes from sleep without the notion of the passing of time. Ordinarily, such an easy passage would have been joyous, but she could not deny a building sense of trepidation with each step she now took. Her instincts told her that if she were intended to be involved in some upcoming imperial intrigue, the first move would be made in her holding cell, probably in the middle of the night when she would be most malleable.

As the column finally was called to a halt, Kae'rena took the opportunity to take in the scene, especially hoping to notice if anything appeared unusual, while at the same time wishing for all to be in the ordinary course. The camp itself made magnificent use of the geology of Korriban, and was built against the mountain side, which reached high into the sky. Seen from the outside, a two metre wall had been built to cordon off the interior of the camp, reaching from one side of the mountain to the other. The shifting contours had been accommodated by the barrier taking a crescent-like shape from one side, before it straightened sharply to make its final connection at the other.

The imperial military designed its equipment to be as re-usable as possible. In keeping with this policy, the wall itself was a collection of durasteel segments. At each connecting point there was an electrical relay, which gave the structure an additional defensive feature. Once coupled with a power source, they formed an energy-shield barrier, which was pale reddish in colour, blending well into the natural environment. Despite the aesthetics of the defences, the intensity of the heat and electrical discharge from the shield made any scaling of the wall impossible. Furthermore, the amount of ordinance required to breach the durasteel itself made the structure well impenetrable.

The overseers began to usher the slave column to the outer gate, which gave access to a small holding tunnel the other side of which was the camp interior. In terms of imperial military protocol, there were always two sentries on world side of the outer gate with a sharpshooter positioned in a defensive holding position above. Kae'rena looked for signs of increased security, but could only see the standard three. The sentries raised their weapons, and placed them at-ready positions, as the overseers marched the group into the tunnel. Eventually, Kae'rena passed through, and waited as the outer gate was closed behind them. They all huddled in the darkness for a few moments, before a narrow inner door was opened. The sudden light cut through the blackness so ferociously, the camp wardens had to yell several times before the group regained enough vision to see their way through.

After clearing the inner door, the chains were removed from the foot shackles of the slaves, who were allowed a moderate freedom of movement from this point. The likelihood of escape was extremely low, and not considered a risk to imperial security. There was a wide walking space, allowing the guards a broad field of fire to supress any trouble. The walls of the inner compound forced everyone in one direction. Immediately to her right she could see the Main Command Bunker, atop which flew the imperial flag. Kae'rena naturally blended in with the crowds, and began to meander along to her holding cell. As she passed the command bunker, the imperial barracks and officers' quarters came up into view. It was a vast building, housing the outpost's soldiers, overseers, as well as its officers. A watch must have recently ended, judging by the high influx of personnel, presumably coming off duty. It inspired her to reach her cage without delay, and take in some rest, which she most desperately needed.

The lighting of her path began to turn noticeably artificial, as Korriban's sun moved off beyond the horizon. Kae'rena began to quicken up her pace, for she did not want to risk being caught in a restricted area after curfew. The imperials did not tolerate it.

The day was ending routinely enough. There were no signs of any special operation, or the presence of any important visitors. Kae'rena thought she could finally lower her defences, confident in her ability to handle any belligerence from her fellows. She continued on a few more steps, carefully weaving her way through the multitude, until the numbers began to thin out, as the slaves started to peel off few by few.

Then, it happened.


	2. A Soldier's Orders

Adrenaline begun to surge through her veins like an electric current searching frantically for discharge mass. She quickly realised that a black glove had grabbed her by the shoulder, and was holding tightly to her torn garments. The hand lurched, and pulled her around with such force, had she not been involuntarily tethered to her assailant, she would have lost her balance. As the sharp one-hundred-eighty degree turn approached perfection, she began to see a familiar sight – red eyes and pale blue skin, dressed in an imperial uniform.

Kae'rena occasionally experienced only what she could describe as premonitions. Despite only being the forerunner of pain and torment, her psychological defences had not seen fit to supress anything. At this stage of her life, she had become accustomed to them, but this was the difference between a mere dream and cold cruel reality. Stunned by the suddenness of her seizure, she did not know whether to beg for an explanation or just wait for it to present itself. Not only was this whole exchange horrifically vivid, it seemed to be the beginning of something Kae'rena was hoping to avoid.

While she considered her options, the imperial removed his grip on her shoulder, and replaced it about her arm, arcing around to bring himself parallel with Kae'rena. He began pulling her back in the direction she had just come, and she could tell by his forcefulness that no good lay in store. In her desperation, she uttered with as much humility as she could muster, "Where are you taking me?"

"Silence, slave!" the officer replied with a tone of disgust.

With each step that they took, her level of despair rose higher. It must have been her instinct overcoming her rationality not to oppose her masters that she began to struggle against his punishing grip with every bit of strength she had left. While the officer was clearly prepared for her resistance, eventually he grew tiresome of its presence. With her mind so focused on freeing herself, she was entirely unprepared as the imperial buried his fist with expert precision into her gut. The concentration of the impact knocked the life out of her. On top of struggling to break free, she was now struggling to breathe. Her insides twisted in uncontrollable spasms, until she began to throw up onto the sandy ground. Regardless of the shamefulness of how easily she had been subdued, the red-eyed imperial believed there was still some fight left in her, causing him to strike her across the jaw with a weighty follow-through.

Kae'rena tried to rid herself of the blood now pouring from the cuts in her mouth. In-between her troubled respiration, most attempts merely caused her to choke, only exacerbating her difficulties. She continued her struggle, but the fire of rebellion had been extinguished. Succumbing to her weakness and defeat, she tripped and stumbled along the path, as the imperial pulled her like a stubborn animal further and further forward.

As some sense of perception came back to her, she noticed the spectacle of her humiliating escort had piqued the interest of others, walking to their cages as she had been only moments ago. One, however, kept eye contact too long and Kae'rena saw an overseer come up behind them, and strike out with his lash. The sight reminded her of her early encounter with the whip. The memory seemed to revisit the pain upon her, the continued presence of which she had until then learnt to mask.

She was drawn along the path for what seemed any eternity. By this time, she had managed to regain a regular breathing pattern, and was managing to keep pace with her captor. Up ahead she could see a second imperial officer escorting another slave in what appeared to be the direction in which they were headed. "What is this," she thought to herself, "a purge?"

As she reached the pair's right flank, she looked over at the other prisoner. Seemingly, he too had put up a fight, as his face was all bruised and bloodied. Although they did not dare speak to each other, they managed to keep relative eye contact. Kae'rena did not know whether the feeling was mutual, but knowing she had not singled out entirely did bring a minor sense of calm over her.

Not too shortly after, they were led through into what looked like a side entrance to the Main Command Bunker. As the officers approached, she saw the guards stand to attention and render passing honours, until finally they were shoved through the entrance.

While she was temporarily free to move, Kae'rena took in the scene. The interior of the structure was the standard durasteel construction, dull grey in colour. The lighting was plentiful, with the imperial red motif complementing the room's presentation brilliantly. There was little time to admire the aesthetics, as the two of them were once again hauled by their respective handlers further into the centre of the structure. They reached the far side of the room and were led down a long side passage. Kae'rena's eyes, so well adjusted to the excellent illumination of the ante-chamber, took several moments to adjust to the darkness of the corridor. The only source of light, as they were herded down the course way, was from under the metal grating beneath them. Her vision only returned by the time they had reached the end of the walkway, nevertheless it was soon enough to see a large steel door in front of them. Before reaching the hatch, her companion's handler looked over to hers. "Detention block B, sir?" he asked, as he casually made for a control pad on the metal panel immediately left of the hatch.

"Yes specialist," the other replied with a cold formality and indifference.

It was fortunate for Kae'rena the Empire placed so much emphasis on military protocol for it allowed her another brief moment of respite from the loathsome grip of this blue-skinned officer, as he stood to attention, responding, "Very good, sir, I shall take that off your hands then."

"Carry on," came the reply, as the specialist keyed in his access code to produce the entrance. Before the door opened, the status indicator on the control pad switched from red to blue. Kae'rena and her comrade were then forced forward, and led to their assigned detention block.

The holding cell itself was a large rectangular room. Ingress and egress was controlled by an energy force field, which would be raised and lowered at a specific point to create a narrow break. Kae'rena could see clearly enough through the pale pink beam to realise there were already two occupants. One was a man, who was sitting in a corner, pulling his knees towards his torso. He appeared to be going to extreme effort not to look at the new arrivals, or in fact anything that was not immediately in front of him. The other was a diminutive looking girl. This one must have really had a difficult journey from the camp, Kae'rena thought, as the body lay motionless on the cold metallic floor.

The specialist, after delivering his charges to their cell, immediately restored the energy barrier to full power, scanned the holding cell for any obvious signs of trouble, before finally turning and heading back towards the inner door. Kae'rena, now being at liberty to take in her situation and surroundings, held herself more easily knowing he was gone. The man with whom she had been brought was now sitting at the opposite end of cell with an obvious look of bitterness and defeat. With the two male inmates clearly wishing to keep to themselves, she slowly approached the lifeless figure in the centre of the room.

Kae'rena came closer, and gently knelt down beside the body. The various wounds she had sustained began to cry out in agony, while she bent and lowered herself. The sharpness of the pain in time subsided, making her existence endurable once more. She reached over to the shoulder of the girl, and whispered softly to her with a genuine sense of concern, "Can I help?" The body began to twist and turn on the durasteel plates. Kae'rena took this as a sign that her earlier impression was accurate. Whichever officer, who had brought her here, had clearly given no quarter. The girl began to lift herself finally off the floor, and turned to face Kae'rena, who was surprised at the reaction provoked by their making of eye contact.

"Who are you?" she demanded, not in a confrontation or aggressive voice, but neither one imbued with any sort of uncertainty or reserve. It was nothing more than a neutral request for an introduction.

Kae'rena thought that it would be useful for her to have some form of support in whatever it was to come, and so took a brief moment to consider a tactful and tactical response. "Like you, a slave, like you, a prisoner." Pointing out their mutual adverse circumstances, she hoped, would be sufficient to cement an acceptable pretext to engage in a dialogue.

"You are very well knocked up," she observed, as if it were nothing remarkable.

The sad truth was that it was not anything remarkable, and with that in mind the only response Kae'rena could divine was to enquire after the well-being of her enigmatic comrade.

"Who me? No. The imperials do not bother with me," she pointed out, with a tragic smile on her face.

"Why not?" Kae'rena replied, eager to know more of this unprecedented case. Her efforts to avoid a beating never seemed to have had quite the same effect.

"Simple enough. I just don't give them cause. Just let them do what they want."

Kae'rena could not fathom this. "But they are so heartless and brutal. Don't you ev–"

"Look at me," she instructed. Anger had now entered her voice. "Take a good long look. What sort of fight do you think I could put up?"

Kae'rena had to concede the point that while she, herself, had at least some musculature from all the physical labour over the years, this poor specimen had been endowed with nothing but her skin and bones. She thought not to argue the point any further. The girl had seemed rather annoyed at being cornered into admitting her own physical inadequacy. Obviously, it was a sensitive issue, and the conversation was now heading towards the wrong side of neutral. "What is your name?" Kae'rena asked.

"Kory," the girl replied, now with a distinctively warmer undertone. Silence then usurped sound. Wearing a puzzled look, she leaned slightly forward in direction of Kae'rena, who did not seem to realise that the social convention was to reciprocate with her own name. A few moments passed yet nothing was forthcoming. "You must be the life of the party," Kory said with a satirical grin.

"Kae'rena," she at last added in a clumsy haste, "my name is Kae'rena." While at the onset Kory had seemed to her to be a rigid, cold-hearted individual, fortunately it was turning out that she had a sense of humour, in particular finding her lapse of social grace very amusing. Strangely, Kae'rena found this re-assuring, and managed to laugh with Kory at herself.

"Kae'rena," Kory repeated. "That's a new one. Never heard that name before. Does it mean something? What planet are you from?"

"Someone branded it on me," she answered, with a look suggesting she neither knew how, when, where or why it had been done. Nevertheless, she pulled away her sleeve, revealing the scars on her lower left arm. "I naturally assumed it was my name. Maybe it refers to my planet?"

"Kae'rena? A planet?" Kory chuckled. "No, friend. If it were a planet I would know. I was born in space. My father did jobs for Bruga the Hutt between Nar Shaddaa and Dromund Kaas for over twenty years. Specialist Freight Transport. So believe me. I'd know."

"I believe you," Kae'rena replied. "I only know Korriban. I haven't heard of those other places."

"Are you from Korriban?" Kory asked, "Surely you must have heard of those others? Kaas City on Dromund Kaas is the Imperial Capital after all, and Nar Shaddaa is the power seat of the Hutt Cartel. All Kae'rena could do was shake her head. Kory looked amazed. She looked amazed, but also pitying. "They must have got you really young."

"Possibly," Kae'rena had to agree, trying to hide the novelty of someone sympathising with her life's tragedy. "I've had plenty of time to think on it. All I can seem to remember is landing on Korriban in what looked like a freighter, and being marched straight to an imperial compound for processing, bound in convoy with several others like me. After that, it was one labour camp after another, one dig site after another."

"So, where were you before that?"

"I really–" Kae'rena cut off her reply and observed absolute silence. Everyone's attention had been diverted to the sound of the hatch being opened, and more prisoners being brought through. At the head of the column was an imperial officer, behind which were a group of five men with a guard to either side and one bringing up the rear. The officer took a step towards the control console, and lowered the force-field while the three guards herded the captives into the holding cell without any form of compunction. Once all had passed through the break in the energy beam, the officer re-engaged the force-field, sealing in Kory and Kae'rena with their new companions.

Kae'rena overhead the officer ordering the guards to report back to their posts. "At once, lieutenant," they replied, with that unmistakable military courtesy. The guards turned and headed towards the hatch, which opened once more at the keying in their access code, allowing them to leave. Kae'rena was expecting the officer to follow them, but to her disappointment he remained. He stood for a moment to survey the holding cell, before eventually taking up a position behind a single-hand control station. Apparently, his post was here.

Kae'rena was frustrated. Her current predicament may not end well, but at least for the present she had had the rare opportunity to interact with someone without fear of what it might bring. With this officer watching over them, she now would need to keep her mouth shut. Kory, however, to Kae'rena's surprise continued as if he were not there at all.

"So, you were saying?" Kae'rena kept silent and only looked at Kory with a pleading look not to press her to speak. Yet, Kory pressed on. "What's wrong?"

"Don't speak. He's watching. He'll punish us." Kae'rena mouthed to her, communicating each thought with as fewer words as she could.

"Kae'rena, we are not exactly swapping military secrets here," Kory jibbed. She clearly thought Kae'rena's reluctance to draw attention to herself by continuing their conversation was ridiculous. Nevertheless, she realised her new friend would not lightly be persuaded from that position. To break the stalemate, Kory did something Kae'rena thought to be exceptionally brave, but also exceptionally ill-advised. She approached the energy barrier, and in a very familiar voice addressed the imperial officer. "Excuse me, Lieutenant. Do object to me speaking to my friend here?"

Kae'rena was in awe of this. She had learnt the painful way the lesson that one should only address an officer if, and only if, replying to a question. Yet, Kory seemed to take this in her stride. The officer did not seem to be predisposed to offering a reply, however after a few moments without looking up from the console he gave his answer. "As long as you do not expect me to participate, and on condition you do not swap any military secrets," he replied.

"Very kind of you, sir," Kory said to the lieutenant, before turning back to Kae'rena. She gestured to her that they ought to re-locate themselves to the far corner of the cell, and both moved over and began to talk once more, now sharing a space with that strange man, who was still holding his knees to his chest.

"See. Not all the military are animals," Kory said. "They can be harsh sometimes, but stay out their way and do as you're told, most you're likely to get is a tongue lashing."

"Fortunate for us this one seems to be one of the better ones," Kae'rena whispered, still not entirely convinced they ought to be talking, still keeping a close watch on the officer over at the console.

"So, why did you come over to me in the first place?" Kory enquired. She too was now whispering, hoping it would put Kae'rena somewhat at ease.

"I simply wanted to see if you were hurt, and if I could help. It looked like you had beaten unconscious."

"No. Not at all," Kory whispered back. "Just exhausted from the day."

"You were sleeping?" Kae'rena replied, in a slightly raised whisper, unable to believe the truth of it. "How can you sleep with all that is happening?!"

Kae'rena's tone was enough for Kory to understand that she would insist on an answer to this particular question. "Simply, I was tired. I clearly could not go anywhere, so I thought I might as well get some rest. Who knows what this all is about."

Before Kae'rena could proffer a response another voice had cut into the conversation. The man who had been crouched in the corner in an upright foetal position suddenly not only found a voice, but something to say. "What does it matter," he spat at them, "we all die eventually. It's just a question of when and how slowly."

Kory snapped back at him. "Spare me the philosophy lecture, pal. I don't recall asking for your comments."

"But Kory, are you not curious to know what is going on?" Kae'rena retorted. "We might be heading for an execution parade at any moment." Kae'rena discernibly had the same pessimistic outlook as their philosophising cell mate.

"Whatever our fate is, I don't see any way right now to change it," Kory concluded, "so no use wasting energy dwelling on it."

"I suppose that is true, Kory," Kae'rena eventually conceded, forcing a grim smile. "You'll just need to keep enough calm for the both of us.

"Spare me the philosophy lecture, little girl," the man barked back at Kory, using her own words against her. Kae'rena immediately felt a sense of foreboding, as the comment on Kory's physical stature would surely escalate the situation. Kory and the Professor – a name Kae'rena in her head had given to the strange man – stared at each other. Even seated, he was only slightly lower than she, and yet she kept his gaze, as if just waiting for his next move.

The tension was palpable. Kae'rena tried to diffuse the situation, and placed her hand on Kory's shoulder. "Leave it Kory. The officer," she pleaded.

The Professor did not help matters, as he added in a derisive tone, "Lucky for you your friend here has some sense and some muscle on her, little girl."

Kae'rena turned her back to Kory to face this unneeded agitator, but before she could act on her impulse to reproach him about his hostile demeanour, in her periphery she saw Kory rush passed, as she lunged at him, arms outstretched for his throat. Although Kory was a very lightweight, the height advantage proved sufficient to result in enough momentum to knock the man over onto his side. She followed up her initial attack by climbing onto his back, and holding his neck in a hap-hazard choke hold.

For the first few moments, it looked like she was winning. But the inevitability of it all was that she was no physical match, and was quickly overpowered. As the Professor regained his feet, Kory was lifted into the air along with him. In addition to being light, she was also rather short. Eventually, she lost her hold, falling to the durasteel with a deep clunk. At the same moment, her opponent had swung himself around and used the entire force of his weight to send a clasped fist straight at Kory's face.

Kae'rena was in a state of panic. She had spent as long as she could remember avoiding fights like this, and had no idea on how to respond. While her mind raced to determine whether she now had any moral obligation to assist, it eventually settled on the point that Kory had started this fight, and the Professor was merely defending himself. Deep down, however, she knew the truth. She was merely justifying her own fear that becoming entangled in this brawl would only worsen her own situation. Fortunately for her, trying to stay out of trouble with other slaves had necessitated that she develop her faculties, and, in particular, resourcefulness.

It had been less than ten seconds into the altercation, when Kae'rena decided to enlist the aid of the officer on duty, but as she turned to do so she observed the scene outside the cell was just as frantic as inside.

Directly opposite where the entrance to the cell usually appeared was a raised durasteel plate about four metres above the floor. Underneath the metal plate Kae'rena could see two motion-sensor sentry turrets, staring her straight in the eye. The officer was no longer at his control console, but was heading towards the cell with a keen sense of urgency on his face. In addition to the sentry turrets, two riot suppression droids had taken up flanking positions in the far corners of the outer room. The lieutenant had seemingly tripped some sort of security countermeasures, as it appeared he was preparing to lower the energy field and enter the cell.

Kae'rena's expectation had been exact. A hissing sound was born into the air as the field was lowered, allowing access to the prisoners. He immediately entered the cell, and moved over to the corner from where all the commotion was coming. While his back was turned, one of the prisoners thought to take a gamble, and seized the opportunity to secure his freedom. No sooner had he passed through the entrance had the sentry turrets roared to life. Two shots were all it took.

Kae'rena expected the officer to be more interested now in the failed escape attempt. He was not in the slightest, and continued his course straight for the belligerents. By this time, Kory had freed herself from her combatant's chokehold by landing a cunning blow to his groin area. Using his recovery time wisely, she assumed a defensive stance to put some distance between them.

"Stand down!" yelled the lieutenant. While neither of the fighters showed any sign of dropping their guards, the lieutenant's directive had caused the Professor to falter. Immediately identifying his hesitation as an opportune time to strike, to the trained eye, she could be seen transitioning from a defensive stance to an offensive one, in preparation for her next attack. "Kory!" he shouted.

Still Kory made ready to land her next blow. She would have been successful in her attempt, if it were not for the lieutenant moving straight for her. He grabbed her around the waist with one arm, and lifted her, not particularly high into the air but merely sufficient to clear her feet off the floor. Kae'rena looked on at this in bewilderment, noticing the lieutenant reach for his wrist with his free hand. He was wearing a band around his lower arm with two slim-line button keys. Whatever they were, the red was currently active, but that was all about to change as he toggled the blue.

At once Kae'rena could hear a low hum, gradually growing in intensity over the period of about a second. Her curiosity was soon satisfied as a painful electric shock was administered to her, to the Professor, and to everyone else unfortunate enough to be confined in the cell. Those seated now collapsed onto their sides, while those standing plummeted downwards, as the current twitched away any muscular control. The low thunder of bodies connecting suddenly with the charged steel floor was nowhere sufficient to drown out the screams of pain from all in the room. As Kae'rena regained some semblance of focus, she looked up.

The officer was standing unaffected. Obviously it now made sense to Kae'rena why slaves were not given any form of footwear. What did remain unexplained, however, was why the lieutenant ensured that the discharge would not affect Kory. She was, after all, the initial link in the chain of causality, which had led to one prisoner's death and the others' electrocution.

Kory was still flaying her arms about, as the officer maintained a tight grip on her. "Everyone, over in that corner," he yelled, with a mixture of frustration and anger in his voice. Kae'rena obeyed without question, however the rest of her cadre were not as spry as she was. In the end, all it earned for them was another dose of electricity, as the lieutenant once again toggled the blue switch. "Now!" he screamed, with the result that everyone now made haste to recover themselves, and gather in the far corner as instructed. The imperial officer, on the other hand, moved in the opposite direction to the corner diagonally opposite the huddled group of frightened slaves. Upon arrival, he lowered Kory and then grabbed her with both arms, pinning her against the wall and looking straight down at her. "Stop this, Kory" he commanded.

Notwithstanding that she had been yelling obscenities at her mark while all this had been ongoing, she managed to spare some breath for him. While Kae'rena could only hope in silence for her not to provoke this imperial with poorly chosen words, Kory only responded, "I'll show that sarlacc excrement the little of this girl." Kae'rena could hear, though, the ardour of battle had receded, and had now been replaced with what could only be described as a rending sadness.

"I told you, Kory," said the officer, "you can't go around picking a fight with everyone who provokes you, or throws an insult your way. Look how surprised your friend over there was to see not a scratch on you. You think her time here has been easy? Look at her. She hasn't been so lucky as to have had a friend in the Imperial Military to keep her out of harm's way. She's beaten, broken, scarred. And I doubt she was even looking for trouble."

"Marrkus, I –"

"Save it! No honeyed words this time, Little One. You need to face the harsh truth. I know it was not right how you ended up here after that sad business with the Cartel, but surely you realise, in the next twenty-four hours, you're truly on your own. Fortunately, you've managed to find another tall blonde to replace me. Even though she seems to have less spine than a Hutt, something, I suppose, is better than nothing."

After a strained silence, Kory finally found enough emotional stability to speak. "I'm scared, Marrkus. What's going to happen to me now?"

Having to admit out aloud to herself the truth of the situation saw Kory transform from the chirpy, confident, and somewhat outspoken individual Kae'rena had taken her to be, to just another frightened girl, bound in slavery, without any hope. All her talk of not giving the imperials cause to harm her had been an exaggeration, all bravado at not being perturbed by what the future held a falsehood. The lieutenant, or Marrkus Kae'rena reflected, had loosened his grip, and was now holding Kory gently to him. It was a crestfallen sight. "I'll miss you, Marrkus," Kory mumbled into the officer's tunic, so on the verge of tears all she could of were platitudes.

"I, too, my friend," Marrkus replied in a solemn voice, behind which Kae'rena sensed lay a grief-stricken soldier. He took a moment, then looked over at the opposite corner of the room. He glared straight at Kae'rena, whom he saw had clearly taken notice of his gaze. "You. Come here!" he ordered. Kae'rena acquiesced immediately, taking less than three seconds to cover the distance as best as her scorched feet would move here. "You see her," he said, drawing her attention to Kory. "This is my very dear friend of many years. You keep her safe. Fail, and on my life, may the Emperor's Wrath take you!"

Kae'rena did not know how to respond, so she simply took Kory over from him, and helped her towards the main group. "Now, the rest of you. No more trouble, or else," warned the lieutenant, who began to move towards the open barrier. Before he reached the aperture, the main hatch could be heard opening. Two guardsmen came rushing through, and assumed positions on either side of the door. Marrkus continued to exit the cell, reactivating the energy field as he passed through, and climbed over the dead body, which still lay there. As he moved towards his control console to stand down from alert status, he looked over to the guardsmen. "You are dismissed, specialists," he ordered. "The situation here is under control." By this time, he had reached his station, and cancelled countermeasures. The sentry turrets were lowered beneath the surface of the floor once more, and the riot suppression droids began to return to their storage units. It was during all this that a voice came booming into the room, which the lieutenant recognised, but by no measure had anticipated.

"Disregard that order, specialists. You both stay exactly where you are until I say otherwise," ordered a grey-haired man, who had just come into view.

Immediately on catching sight of him, the lieutenant jumped to attention and observed the required military courtesy. "Major, sir. Lieutenant Marrkus Rijgord on station, sir," reported the lieutenant.

"I know who are you are Rijgord," said the major, with hint of mockery in his voice, "what I do not know is why you are on duty, here."

"My division captain assigned me to detention block duty, sir" the lieutenant responded, almost as if he had prepared his response well in advance.

"I see," replied the major, grimacing as he took in the response. "Amazingly enough, lieutenant, I spoke to your division captain a moment ago. He told me you approached him, and requested that you be re-assigned to detention block duty on the basis that you would, as he put it, 'owe him one'. Curious behaviour, Rijgord. Is there an explanation, or is the captain merely covering up his poor judgment in assigning a commissioned officer to such a menial task?"

"It is true, sir," the lieutenant responded, daring not to insinuate that his division captain had given false information. "I did approach the captain for assignment here, sir."

"I already know that, lieutenant," snapped the major, who was now circling his subordinate in an intimidating and menacing fashion. "The good captain is one of my best officers. I refuse to believe that he would be guilty of such a grievous mismanagement of military personnel in the course of handing out duty assignments. Do you intend to waste my valuable time further, or are you going to answer the question?"

Marrkus gathered his thoughts for a moment. He was now beyond the point of being able to rely on rehearsed responses. He needed to play for time, and attempted to deflect the major's attention. "Sir, I didn't mean to waste your –"

"Quiet!" the major shouted, shocking even the lieutenant into silence. After she had witnessed first-hand Marrkus' compassionate side, Kae'rena was willing to concede Kory's assertion that not all in Imperial Military were cold, hard and unfeeling. The major, however, was drawing to Kae'rena's attention a good argument to the contrary - himself. His entire inquisition, it seemed, was going beyond a simple rectification of poor decision-making involving military resources, and so continued cross-examining his junior.

"Explain, Lieutenant Rijgord, if you would be so kind, by what cause alert status was raised from that console a few moments ago," the major demanded, "I am intrigued to hear."

"Prisoner squabble, sir," Marrkus explained. "I raised alert status to activate security measures before proceeding inside the cell to break up the fight."

"And in the process not only managed to allow the loss of one of the prisoners, but also to place at risk a valued imperial officer," the major reprimanded. "The whole purpose of our riot suppression security measures is to enable the duty officer to remain here during such an incident – on the outside of the cell!" All the lieutenant could respond to the major was agreement with his remarks. It was becoming a trend for the conversation, Marrkus thought, standing completely rigid as the major continued.

"Who was involved?" The lieutenant reluctantly pointed out Kory and the man with whom she had been fighting. From what Kae'rena could see of the major's facial expression, it came as no surprise. However, whether that was on account of Kory being involved, or the other, she could not tell.

"That man attacked the young girl on the far left, sir, after having taunted her repeatedly" Marrkus rushed to add. "She, as you can see, is clearly outmatched physically, and I feared if I did not act it may have resulted in a fatality."

"A fear which could have been quelled without putting your life at risk," the major replied, visibly disappointed. "Very well, lieutenant," he concluded, squaring up eye to eye with Marrkus, less than a metre-long gap between them, "what is done, is done, and must be dealt with." Kae'rena perceived clearly the finality in his voice. Enough had been recounted for him to make a decision on how to proceed, and so he raised his left arm, gesturing to the two guards in a short, circular wave of his hand. This latest action had caused a deep sense of anxiety to erupt from Kae'rena's core, and, like larva creeping out of a volcano, began to melt away her fragile inner peace.

The two guards had at once reacted to the major's command. They walked unsympathetically directly towards Marrkus. Surely, they were not going to arrest him, Kae'rena thought.

The major walked over to the control console, and toggled the energy field to reveal a path into the cell. Kae'rena cursed her apparent ability to sense imminent danger or menace as the two guards took up flanking positions beside Marrkus. She expected them to restrain him, and throw him in with the rest of them, however they merely stood there, awaiting further instructions. The major finally broke the silence, as he stepped away from the control console, and back towards the centre of the outer room. "In you go, Rijgord."

Marrkus must have believed protesting would have only made things worse. In the end, he walked into the cell without resistance, being followed closely by his escort. While to some it may have appeared to be the actions of a soldier, well trained and conditioned to follow orders without question, Kae'rena more easily believed he had surrendered so easily because he knew he would be able at least to continue as Kory's protector.

Kae'rena's knotted innards now burnt with an unfamiliar intensity. No longer she felt dread or apprehension, but jealousy. It was in truth a wholly novel state of being for her. Life as a slave was no life to envy. Existing in effective isolation from anyone else, her hardships had been no different to any other slave's, which she had always accepted as being the way of things. And yet, she was now faced with a force so unbreakable it seemed to transcend any preconceived notions of might or power – loyalty. That was something to be envied, she thought, something of which until recently she had not conceived the value. She struggled to decide whether the knowledge did her, in fact, a disservice, but knew it was impossible now to forget or ignore.

Having been distracted by her deliberations, she neglected to take note that the guards had not retreated to the outside of the cell. If it were not for the one beginning to walk towards her and the group of slaves huddled together in the corner of the chamber, it would have been several moments before she refocused on her own predicament. He pushed Kae'rena out of the way, and shot his arm out to grab hold of Kory. Kae'rena, recently inspired by Marrkus' courage, managed to overcome her conditioned tendency to choose flight over fight, and at once made for the imperial accosting her new friend, whom she had been charged to protect. Training and experience were, however, not her allies but her enemies. The guard swung his free arm across her face, knocking her straight to the durasteel floor. Kae'rena, shamed by her failure as a guardian, could only watch as the specialist pushed Kory away, before reaching to seize the Professor. They stood now side by side in the middle of the room, well apart from Kae'rena and the remainder of prisoners. The focal point of everything and everyone had now shifted.

With all the action being localised in the vicinity of the cell occupants, Kae'rena had not noticed the fruits of the second guard's labour. He had tapped some sort of manual release for an overhead panel, which had swung open to reveal a control pad. He keyed in an access code to lower two steel ropes, terminating with wrist-binders. Finally, he turned. "Ready, major," he said.

"Very good, specialist," the major replied. "String him up."

Kae'rena's heart sank as she heard the major's words. What horrors were they going to visit on the heroically noble lieutenant? Fortunately, in the end the two guards took hold of the Professor instead, placing both his wrists in the shackles dangling from the ceiling. The specialist looked over to the other, and gave a nod, to which his partner responded by toggling a button on the control pad, which had been accessed by the open panel. Immediately, the slack on the steel ropes disappeared, as it drew the bound prisoner nearly off his feet.

""Lieutenant," the major pronounced, "in terms of the Part 7 of the 'Articles of War' a member of the Imperial Armed Forces commits an offence by rendering, or by risking to render, themselves unfit for service, and is subject to disciplinary action. You have not denied your conduct. Your culpability is not contested. It is, however, fortunate for you that your division captain, the opinion of whom I both trust and respect, regards you without reservation as a loyal and dedicated officer. The actions of these slaves, however, cannot be ignored. Had such a challenge to imperial authority occurred in the general population, it would have been summarily dealt with. They are still the property of the Imperial Military, and shall receive no special dispensation, regardless of their alleged importance to others within the Empire. To discourage future insurgence, the guilty party shall have our Emperor's retribution. Five lashes, lieutenant. And let that it be by your hand, be your correction."

The specialist closest to Marrkus handed him something, which Kae'rena instinctively recognised as the tool of choice for imperial overseers. The sight of it unsettled her, as she recalled once more her own experience earlier that day. One strike was excruciating enough. Five, she thought, would be enough to cause a sensory overload, sending anyone into unconsciousness, induced by the attainment of a pain threshold the mind simply could not process.

Marrkus took the heatlash from the guard, but was clearly made very uncomfortable by what he was now being asked to do. "Major, sir," he began, "is this absolutely necessary? The situation is under control, and knowledge of this incident shall not reach the general slave population. There is no way it poses a threat to security."

"It is not a request, lieutenant," the major answered, "it is an order. I suggest you carry it out, lest you be guilty of insubordination as well. Unless your hesitation is founded on this man not being the more guilty party? Perhaps we should make the woman our Emperor's example."

Marrkus now had a look of desperation on his face. He did not know the major all that well, but he certainly knew that there did exist officers in senior positions, who were without mercy. He had to act against this. As he opened his mouth to begin to speak, the major conceded, anticipating his objection and interjecting, "We need not administer lashes and protract suffering if that appeases your sense of morality, Rijgord. Death for this girl, I dare say, would be just as meaningful a lesson."

The lieutenant was now faced with a terrible choice, as the specialist closer to Kory raised his blaster pistol, and aimed it at her head. "Standing by, major," spoke the guard, in response to his commander's implied instruction. Kae'rena found his enthusiasm for his work angering her.

Marrkus' mind was now ablaze with internal dialogue and self-examination. "This man does not deserve such a flogging," he thought to himself, "visit some retribution upon him to embellish the lesson, but not something so extreme!"

The possibility of successfully suggesting a compromise was a forlorn hope, even if he had a viable alternative. The major seemed set in his mind. Marrkus unleashed a wave of anguish upon himself, while he continued debating the moral position.

"Kory started all this," he admitted to himself, "and this man is now being made to pay. If there were justice, the hammer stroke would fall on her. On the other hand, if punishment is made on her, it means death, a worse fate than a flogging, and even more disproportionate. The body of the man would mend in time, if not entirely his mind, but death is final. Could the mercy of death be the last kindness I can do for her?"

Marrkus allowed himself a moment to make his decision. "It is not for me to make that choice for Kory, and if protecting my friend means compromising my sense of justice, so be it."

Kae'rena was waiting in dread anticipation, refusing to believe Marrkus would allow Kory to be hurt. Only a few seconds had passed since the major had given him the ultimatum. Finally, he responded, "That won't be necessary, sir. The more guilty party should bear the punishment. As the senior officer, that is for you to determine."

Kae'rena was so relieved, she even found herself manifesting a wry smile along the left side of her face. She reflected that if she had been in Marrkus' position, the decision would have been simple – better a stranger, than a friend.

"Carry on, lieutenant," ordered the major. The man chained up began to protest, although given how stretched his lungs were, it was an effort for him to vocalise anything. The sound which came out was all distorted, with only the occasional word being distinguishable.

Marrkus believed he had convinced the major that his hesitation had not been due to any reservation in his mind over who ought to receive the punishment. Nevertheless, self-doubt began to seize Marrkus' thoughts, as the prisoner began pleading his innocence, or at least his lesser degree of guilt. Every slave, when faced with a beating, rants off a version of miscarried justice, however in this case the compounding effect of that and the lieutenant's own representations on the matter, may have been sufficient for the major to perceive such talk with a hint of credibility. It was an improbable outcome, but one which he was nevertheless not prepared to risk. "Gag him, specialist" he ordered.

Marrkus' voice, as far as Kae'rena could hear, now echoed with the resonance of one trained to command. The specialist as a result carried out his orders at once, without needing to seek the approval of the major, who clearly gave no sign of objecting. The already muffled voice of the Professor all but disappeared, as the guard shoved something into his mouth. Marrkus, thereafter, unfurled the heat-lash, and struck the prisoner. The familiar sound of searing flesh filled the silent room, as Kae'rena counted, "One."

The second blow came near after the first. "Two," Kae'rena continued to herself. She was surprised that she did not hear the man scream out in pain, but then remembered that he had something shoved down his throat.

The third stroke came and went. While the first two had connected along the prisoner's upper back, the third had impacted lower. Marrkus reached back with the lash, and levelled the fourth strike. The man had at each attack not discernibly screamed, but his suffering had been quite apparent from the writhing of his body. The torturous weapon burnt away cloth and skin. There was no escaping it. On this occasion, however, the body seemed to go limp and just hang there, suspended by steel rope and bound by shackles.

The lieutenant, eager to be done with this loathsome business, drew back the lash to strike the fifth and final blow. Before he could proceed, the major stopped him. "Stand by, lieutenant," he ordered in a controlled manner.

"That's only four, sir," Marrkus replied.

"He has been beaten senseless, lieutenant," the major responded. "We are not sadists to scourge a man for its own sake if there is nothing to be gained from it."

"As you order, sir," answered Marrkus, trying not to show just how relieved he was that both he, and this poor soul, had been given even a slight reprieve.

"Punishment ended," the major spoke in conclusion, which the specialists understood as an order for them to release the prisoner from his bonds. The guards, therefore, removed his shackles, without the support of which the prisoner plummeted to the cell floor, landing on his stomach giving all of them a showing of the wounds he had sustained. While the one guard replaced the steel ropes and shackles in the overhead compartment, the other had exited the cell, and was standing at guard attention immediately outside the entrance.

During all this, Kae'rena has forgotten about the dead prisoner lying on the other side of the energy field, until the major issued his next set of orders. "Dispose of that," he said to the specialist on guard at the entrance, gesturing towards the inert body on the floor. The second had now also passed through energy barrier, and was greeted with his orders, being that he ought to remain on station to replace the lieutenant.

"Yes, sir," came their reply one after another, almost as if it had just been an echo.

"Lieutenant, take a moment to satisfy yourself of the prisoners' statuses," instructed the major, "then report to me in my office."

By this time the specialist had positioned himself at the control console, just as Marrkus had done what seemed to have been ages ago. The second guard had brought in an anti-gravity sled, on which he loaded the dead body, and departed. The major fell in behind him, as he moved towards the outer hatch, and exited the room.

Marrkus, as instructed but very aware that a witness to his actions remained behind, wormed his way through the group of slaves, as they stood silent in the cell. His only true concern, though, was for Kory. Kae'rena observed them exchange glances. This was their final goodbye. It was certainly a bitter ending to it all, as Marrkus reluctantly forced himself to walk away, daring not to invite the wrath of the major by failing to report to him timeously. "I stand relieved, specialist," he announced for his replacement, as was the military custom.

"Very good sir," the specialist replied, in fulfilment of his obligation to respond to a superior's address. Marrkus turned his back, and proceeded to the hatch, and keyed in his access code to open it. After he had passed through, he toggled the control panel on the other side to secure door behind him, and walked off to report to the major.

The group of slaves stood in a mild state of shock at all that had gone before, until Kory broke the silence. "Kae, help me bring him over here," she bade her. Kae'rena was happy to oblige, and together they moved the contorted centrepiece to a discrete corner of the cell, where the guard would not easily see them from the control console.

"That looks mighty painful," Kory exclaimed. "Help me remove his vest. It is filthy." Kae'rena did as Kory asked. It was not easily done though. The heat discharge from the lash had burnt cloth and melted skin, which had intermeshed and set. Kory, sensing Kae'rena's squeamishness, pushed her aside and took over, while enlisting her aid once more in a most peculiar way. "Kae, have you drunk anything today?"

Kae'rena was taken aback by the question. "No, Kory. Why?" she said in an uncertain voice. Kory did not answer her question, but simply gave her an instruction to ask the others the same. Trusting that Kory knew what she was doing, she acquiesced despite the awkwardness of the inquiry. Unfortunately, the others were either unable, or unwilling, to assist. Kory swore at them, as soon as Kae'rena reported back. By this time, she had managed to remove the man's vest and had placed it under his stomach as he rested on the cold metal flooring. Kae'rena then pointed out to Kory that his back was bleeding.

"I know, Kae, but if I hadn't removed as much of the garment as I could from the wounds, it would have caused infection," said Kory, as she began to tear a piece of cloth from her own vest. "Better fresh blood now, than rotting flesh later.

Kae'rena was intrigued at the extent of Kory's medical knowledge, and continually urged her for more detail. Kory, however, only had a mind for her task, which now involved removing her undergarments, and hitching up the lower part of her robe. This was too much. "Kory, what are you doing?" Kae'rena insisted.

"Nature's disinfectant, Kae," Kory replied, preparing herself for action, "fortunately Marrkus sneaks me water from the Officers' Mess."

"Nature's disinfectant?" she replied, at a complete loss at making sense of Kory's answer.

"You know," Kory explained without having to get specific. "In a healthy individual it is sterile enough and is an effective agent for reducing the growth rate of bacteria. As we don't have any medical supplies, no choice, I'm afraid. With any luck it will prevent contamination of the wound until we, well, until we get wherever we're going. Possibly we could get him medical attention there, but I wouldn't trust a hope."

Kory, having unclothed herself sufficiently for her purpose, straddled the man. Kae'rena could not believe what was happening. She struggled to supress her inclination to find this all very amusing. Apparently, she was not very successful, as Kory reproached her. "This isn't funny, Kae," she said.

"Actually Kory, it is. Tragic, granted, but still amusing. You are pissing on a man, recently beaten unconscious, lying face down on a prison cell floor, fearing recently for his life, in full view of a room of recently enlivened men. It is literally adding insult to injury, which would only be made more ridiculous if we had a droid serving drinks. And, you don't seem even slightly embarrassed."

"Of course, I'm embarrassed." Kory remarked. "I am sure I am going to remember this as unquestionably one of the most humiliating experiences of my life. I wish I could be unconscious for it too. But I know Marrkus, and I also know that violence affects the agent, as well as the object. Being made to do this, even if to save me, is going to scar him one way or another. I cannot help him to heal. All I can do is this to honour that part of himself he gave up. But enough with the philosophy lecture, cover me so I don't get jumped. Show time."

"Alright then, Little One," Kae'rena responded, grinning at her.

Meanwhile, Marrkus had arrived at the major's office. His aid was seated at a workstation on one side of the outer chamber. Having noticed the lieutenant's arrival, he toggled his communication console. "Lieutenant Rijgord to see you, sir."

"Send him in," came the reply from the major.

Marrkus, having been given leave to enter by the major's aid, approached the door to the inner chamber, opened it and passed through. The major was standing in the centre of the room with his back towards the entrance. The lieutenant secured the door behind him, and announced himself, "Reporting as ordered, sir."

"So lieutenant, did administering that beating please you?" the major enquired.

"No, sir." Marrkus replied honestly and definitively. "I do not see the pleasure in such things."

"I tend to agree with you, Rijgord, notwithstanding that you will come across those in the military who do, almost as often as you come across those who don't," the major replied. "It is irrelevant which disposition either one of us holds. What is relevant is that one does what one is told, what one deems to be necessary. While it was plain you were being ordered to do something which stood against your personal convictions, in the end you did what was required. What you were ordered, to do."

"Yes, sir."

"I understand that you and that woman have a history together, however when past relationships cloud our judgment and threaten military security, it is history, which need to be condemned to obsolescence.

The major, who had remained with his back to the lieutenant, finally turned, and stared him down. A tense, strained silence was observed, while the major gathered his thoughts before delivering his final homily on military matters. "Now listen closely to me, Marrkus," the major began. "You are a part of our glorious Empire's armed forces. A military machine, which has continually expanded our domain, brought the Republic to its knees in the very heart of their territory, and which exists purely to seek out our Emperor's enemies, wherever they may hide, and destroy them."

"Yes, sir," the lieutenant acknowledged.

"I am not finished," the major retorted, although this time in a more constructive manner, as one would expect a father to instruct a son. "This girl's pugnacious character has been a disruption to the stability of our efforts here on more than one occasion. It has only been allowed to persist on account of the enlisteds fearing that doing their duty may earn them your displeasure. You left your old life behind when you joined the army. The men and women under your command are bound to carry out their duty within whatever parameters which you, as their commander, see fit to lay down for them. That is without question. However, you, as their commander, owe them an even higher duty. The only individuals of significance in the life, which we have chosen to lead, are those who wear the uniform. And I suppose, the Imperial Navy are deserved as well."

"I understand, sir" the lieutenant said, feeling slightly more at ease for the quip of the major, who relaxed his posture and continued.

"They trust you. They commend into your hands their safety and well-being. That is your primary responsibility, not the fates and misfortunes of slaves. Just as the security of those under my command, like you, are my responsibility. Our charges here outnumber us many times over. Our overseers' ability to exercise control stems from these wretches fearing our might. When they see us fearing and undermining each other, well, that is when we become the targets. If you as a commander, do not act to ensure as far as possible your subordinates' safety, you have failed them. I trust I make myself clear, Marrkus?"

"You do, sir, very clear," Marrkus replied.

"Good. Now your commanding officer speaks most highly of you," the major confirmed, "but we are of a shared opinion your divided loyalty needs to be addressed. That is why I have ordered that this girl be assigned to that group. They will be shipping out within the hour."

"Shipping to where, sir?" the lieutenant asked. Marrkus at that moment wore an expression of complete and utter responsibility. It had been his overprotectiveness which had brought his superiors to this decision. Her fate was his doing.

"It is better, lieutenant, that you remain ignorant of that fact," the major said, not willing to entertain the question. "Though do not be ignorant of what lesson has been taught here, and I dare say you will justify the captain's and my belief in you as a credit to the Imperial Armed Forces."

Marrkus dwelled on that for a moment, as he, despite the feeling of guilt that twinned it, was unable to stave off the well-spring of pride at the faith his commanding officers placed in him. Kory was beyond his help now. He had done all that he could possibly have done, and, in cruel retrospect, that had been the trigger. All that was left was his duty to his commander, and his responsibility to his subordinates. Resolved not to fail them, as he had Kory, he finally addressed the major, "Understood, sir. Your orders, sir."

"Very well, lieutenant. Dismissed. Secure the hatch on your way out, and report to your division captain for instructions. Carry on."

The major turned and walked back towards his office desk. Marrkus ensured that the hatch had been secured after his exit, and headed in the direction of the operations section of the Command Bunker to report for orders. As he walked, he kept repeating to himself, "A good soldier follows orders," but struggled to keep himself from thinking about Kory, wondering what may be happening to her at that very moment.


	3. Flights of Fancy

Kory had at last finished administering her most novel infection-prevention strategy to the patient.

In Kae'rena's time on Korriban, she had only ever seen slaves die of their injuries, or force themselves to recover on their own. She had never before witnessed any form of medical endeavour, and while it was not intended as belittlement, she was compelled to admit that any treatment would have seemed inventive from her vantage point. In the end, however, lack of knowledge or experience did not prevent her acknowledging that Kory had shown more compassion for the Professor, than any she had witnessed in her own personal history. It was, nevertheless, inconsequential. What ultimately mattered to her was that Kory believed it would make a difference. She trusted Kory, and so she trusted her judgment.

The process was ended with a joint effort. Kae'rena's only prior involvement had been to ensure Kory, who had torn away sufficient parts of her lower robe to use as a substitute wound dressing, was not interrupted from her ministrations, or interfered with personally by the male-dominated group.

"Kae, lift his chest off the floor so I can wrap him up." Together they completed the job. Kae'rena kept him sufficiently elevated while Kory proceeded to apply the cloth tightly around his torso, before lowering him gently back to the floor. The final act of care was done.

"Kory, shall we sit him up against the wall?" Kae'rena asked, as she did not feel leaving him lying face-down on the floor showed proper respect for all Kory's selfless exertions.

"Good thinking, Kae," Kory spoke in agreement, "judging by earlier, he seems to find the sitting-position emotionally reinforcing. I hope it's his coping mechanism, because he's going to need a good one." Kae'rena grabbed one arm, and supported her grasp under his shoulder with her free hand. Kory did the same, and in relatively perfect synchronicity they craned his person into a sedentary posture, before pulling him along the smooth cell floor to rest against the bulkhead.

"So," Kory concluded. "Now we wait for him to wake up."

"How do you think he'll react?" Kae'rena asked, wondering whether the Professor would revile Kory as the cause of his injuries, or let the past to itself on account of her attempts to treat him.

"No idea, Kae," Kory was forced to concede, "but as callous as it sounds, he's in no condition to get personal, and it's two against one. So I'm not too concerned about any retaliation. At least, not yet." Although Kae'rena could not fault Kory's logic, she was not able to supress a twinge of anxiety, which involuntarily shot through her. Instead of fixating on the point, she decided to turn her attention to the occupants of the cell.

The holding area, viewed outwardly from the centre point, seemed relatively vacant. Besides the three of them, the remaining cell population had gathered now on the opposite side of the room. It appeared they regarded any association with this closed trio, which circumstances had seen fit to create, as a sure way to further their misfortune.

Given the substantial under-utilisation of the room's capacity, Kae'rena was forced to wonder whether they ought to expect any new arrivals, but then recollected how the major had been so irate that Marrkus had let even one slave expire. It was an attitude which stood in contradiction to her life experience. The Empire had plenty of slaves on Korriban, and the present group did not appear to possess any unique skills or faculties, which made them especially significant, or difficult to replace.

Kae'rena knew that she had no unique appeal, and again challenged herself to find an explanation as to the Empire's purpose. "'Alleged importance to others within the Empire'," she repeated with her mind's voice, remembering the major's cryptic denouncement. Plagued by the riddle, she still could not fathom who would make such an assertion, what the exact nature of their elevated status was, or who the 'others within Empire' could possibly be.

She eventually dismissed her reflexive inquiry as an unsolvable mystery, but realised there may be a known reason how Kory had been caught up in all this intrigue. She, after all, had a unique attribute – she had friends in relatively high places. As soon as the realisation took hold, she began to develop theories on the matter. Notwithstanding that Marrkus may have had nothing to do with Kory's current dilemma, Kae'rena believed it the most likely explanation. Feeling that all Kory's prior misrepresentations had earnt for her the right to answers, she turned to her friend, determined to secure further details, and enquired, "Kory?"

"Kae?" she replied, in a playful manner.

"Tell me about you and Marrkus. I sense there is quite a story standing behind the two of you," Kae'rena said, smiling.

Kory had been expecting this to be brought up at some stage. "Stop smiling, Kae'rena," she said, responding with an absent-minded quality, "There's no twisting, turning tale to be told."

"You could have fooled me, Little One," Kae'rena retorted, emphasising the pet name, which Marrkus had used to refer to Kory, as evidence to the contrary, "But, if you so say."

"Thank you," Kory said. She had a suspicion, though, that her newly designated protector was not willing to relent entirely, and she would not so easily avoid revealing some detail of her personal history with Marrkus.

"Yet, the two of you seemed very close, Kory. No denying that," she resumed, phrasing her question in the guise of an irrefutable observation. Kory admitted defeat. Kae'rena had now talked her into a position where a subtle deflection would no longer be effective.

"Somehow I thought you were not going to let this go," Kory exclaimed, with a protracted exhalation. "Well, it really is not anything particularly exciting. My father was a freighter captain, as I told you. From as far back as I can remember, I was going along on regular trade missions with him. We had residential quarters on Nar Shaddaa, in the Duros Sector near to the Star Cluster Casino, but I grew up in the cockpit, starring out at the stars. That ship was more home to me than Nar Shaddaa. Even if our quarters were more comfortable than the on board accommodations, any hardship was worth the possibility of returning to Kaas City, even if for a short time."

"Did you live in Kaas City before Nar Shaddaa?" Kae'rena sought to clarify, finding she held great interest in Kory's past.

"No. We made cargo runs to the Dromund System regularly enough, but unfortunately, we didn't have cause to dock at Kaas Spaceport nearly as much as I'd have liked. Kae. The Imperial Capital is . . . well . . . it is . . . "

"Impressive?" Kae'rena cut in, uncertain at her choice of word, but believing proffering a suggestion would help keep up the flow of the conversation.

"Yes, impressive," Kory replied, frustrated at her inability to find a suitable descriptor, "but it's so much more, Kae. It's . . . it's an experience. One needs to be there to appreciate it fully. Anyway, what was I saying?"

"Quarters on Nar Shaddaa? Trade missions?" Kae'rena reminded her.

"Yes," Kory continued, picking up on her story without much difficulty. "Now you have to understand my father was an honest trader. I know that sounds hard to believe when you consider we called Nar Shaddaa our home, but he made sure his payloads out of Imperial Space were all legit, down to Bills of Lading. Those were happy times, cert and sure."

"I cannot remember my earlier life," Kae'rena commented. "It must have been completely unremarkable. Your childhood sounded exciting, thrilling even," Kae'rena said, as she smiled at her new comrade. Kory, to her surprise, did not smile back. Something was not right. As Kory began to turn away from her, Kae'rena contritely enquired, "Did I say something to upset you?"

"I'm fine, Kae," Kory replied, turning back to face her. "It is just thinking on all this again brings back a lot of baggage, even if there are happy memories in and amongst it all."

"How deeply regretful," Kae'rena assured sincerely, as she sought greater understanding of Kory's troubled past.

"Circumstances started to change," she began to explain. "We started doing back-to-back cargo runs, but the credits just seemed to get us nowhere. The freighter needed maintenance more regularly, which didn't help. The Cartel kept raising their 'Protection Levy'. Imperial Customs Clearances became more difficult and costly to obtain. The Universe, in general, seemed to be holding a grudge. I was always told it was just a natural reaction to economic downturn, and that things would be fine as long as we kept up the number of trade missions to see it through. I was nine years old. What did I know? He said things would be fine. I believed him."

"I get the sense there was more to it," Kae'rena prompted, clearly displaying her sympathy.

"You could say that. The situation improved slightly, but, unlike before, I observed him speaking to this twi'lek progressively more over the course of the next twenty four months. Also, instead of being taken on the freight runs, I was suddenly being left on Nar Shaddaa. I couldn't understand why. By then, I had become a decent co-pilot, so I didn't think it was because I was a burden, or got in the way."

Kae'rena listened intently. "What was it then?" she asked, urging Kory to continue.

"Turned out that the twi'lek was an associate of Bruga the Hutt. He had been running contraband for the Cartel out of Imperial Space, and didn't want me on board in case he ran into trouble."

Kae'rena looked puzzled. "The actions of a concerned father, but hardly that of an honest trader," she said, "He must have had a rea –"

"He did what he had to do!" Kory screamed, visibly in a pain-induced rage and on the verge of tears.

"Keep it quiet in there, filth!" came a harsh voice from the control console. Kory had quite forgotten about the specialist, who had remained on duty, which was especially inadvisable since this imperial would certainly not look on her as kindly as her Marrkus. Nevertheless, her next words were saturated with venomous hate.

"Damn her!" she cursed, in sharp, cutting voice, before taking a few moments of silence, and turning to Kae'rena with a look of apology. "I'm sorry, Kae. I didn't mean to bark at you like that."

"Bear no blame, Little One" Kae'rena spoke, in as soothing a voice as she could. "We don't have to talk about this if it is too upsetting for you."

"No, no. It's fine," Kory said, recovering her composure. "You were asking about Marrkus, not my greater life story. I only have fond memories of him, so I don't mind talking about it." Kae'rena was glad to see once more some glimmer of positivity enter Kory's expression. Her memories of Marrkus were like tiny suns, shining brightly on her mind, and warmly on her soul, and Kae'rena was encouraged by this, allowing her to continue her story.

"At any rate," Kory began, "smuggling contraband became the order of business for the next several years. I, as a result, was left alone on Nar Shaddaa to my own devices. I didn't see much of my father anymore, so I had to create my own entertainment."

"'Your own entertainment'," Kae'rena repeated, without trying to hide her amusement at how Kory had phrased what she expected were her youthful indiscretions. "I can only imagine what you mean by that," she said to her ironically, having a clear idea of what a character like Kory would get up to, if she were left to her own devices.

"Well, by this time I was closing in on my thirteenth birthday. Maybe my double-digit years emboldened me. Still, there wasn't much I could do in the Duros Sector. But I sure did what I could," Kory admitted, grinning with mischief.

"So this is how Marrkus comes into the picture," Kae'rena concluded for her, eager to make the connection between the two of them.

"That's right," Kory confirmed. "Marrkus' parents were members of the Imperial Diplomatic Service, and were assigned to the Imperial Legate's senior legal staff on Nar Shaddaa. This was during a time the Empire was engaged in a head-to-head bidding war against the Republic for Cartel mining rights on one of their outer-lying worlds. From what Marrkus told me, they were also in the middle of negotiating a permanent treaty with the Hutts, and the entire Legation was being worked day and night. So, he was in much the same position as I was."

"I understand then," Kae'rena responded with a roguish smile. "So the two of you partnered up in creating 'your own entertainment'?"

"It was a bit more complicated than that, Kae," Kory revealed. "I'll give you the short version. I was eventually arrested – an interesting story, but for another time. The next morning, Marrkus was thrown into the same holding cell. The Cartel's idea of fair treatment of prisoners was checking occasionally that they had air to breathe. We spent almost seven nights in custody, without any food or water. No officials of any sort came to interrogate or check on us, and without any heat, we had no choice but to cosy up to each other to keep hypothermia at bay. We were both lucky to find ourselves together in a cell because it appeared we had just been thrown in there to rot. It was even luckier that, eventually, his parents were able to use their political position to convince the Cartel to spring us both."

"His parents secured your release as well?" Kae'rena asked.

"Certainly looked that way," Kory confirmed. "Marrkus spoke to them in private the one morning. He never wanted to tell me exactly what was said, but I always imagined he had simply asked them to try. Wouldn't have thought it would be difficult. I wasn't exactly a master criminal."

"Fortunate for you, you had such a well-connected cell mate," Kae'rena pointed out.

"Very," Kory sent back in agreement. "It must be true that adversity shared binds spirits together, because since that incident the two of us did almost everything together. In retrospect, he being some years older had the effect of tempering my impulsiveness with a small degree of sounder judgment, which was probably a good thing, even if meant less exhilaration."

"What did your father say about it all," Kae'rena asked, "how did he react to how you and Marrkus met each other?"

"Are you that naive?" Kory replied, in disbelief. "He never found out. Marrkus' parents were far too absorbed by their political agenda to take an interest in either of us, beyond ensuring their son didn't cause a diplomatic incident. I certainly didn't volunteer the information, and Marrkus wasn't going to sell me out. True friends keep each other's secrets, so they do."

"You are the closest I've come, Kory," Kae'rena said, re-summoning her earlier emotions on the matter. "My singular memory is being a whipped labourer for the Empire, but I agree. Friends should keep each other's secrets."

"That's good to hear, Kae, because I'm trusting you to keep this between us," Kory said, winking at her.

Kory's acknowledgement of her made Kae'rena surge with rapture, as she smiled warmly back. "We'll be as inseparable as you and Marrkus were," she affirmed, intending to consolidate her first real social connection. The moment the words passed her lips, though, she regretted her thoughtlessness. As Kory's mind hung on the ramifications of the last word spoken, Kae'rena knew she had wrought an eclipse. The light of those suns existed, but were now hidden in obscurity, just as in cruel comparison, Kory's friendship with Marrkus, a cherished and valued companionship, remained, but forever sundered from her.

Kory turned away from her, and she let her to her grief. In any event, Kae'rena preferred the silence to the alternative, and believed she would only risk making the situation worse by speaking. She knew she had only meant to communicate her promise to be as dedicated to Kory as Marrkus was. Nevertheless, Kory would need to internalise her loss on her own terms. She could not interfere with the natural course of things, and so contented herself with being seated on the durasteel floor, flanked by Kory on the left and the Professor on the right, and waiting.

The assumption of silence between them did, however, allow her to overhear what some of the other prisoners were saying on the opposite side of the room. Nothing was particularly informative unfortunately. They were as much in the dark as she was, and were asking much the same questions as she was. Still Kae'rena could not imagine what was going to happen, regardless of how much she forced her imagination to conjure some explanation.

In the middle of processing another far-fetched theory on her current predicament, a familiar clamour ripped the silent air. The hatch was being opened, bringing with it the entrance of four specialists led by a well turned-out officer. Kae'rena, having only moments ago pleaded for a clue, now regretted that her entreaties had been answered. Kory was still consumed by her introspection, and showed no signs of reaction to the latest development. "Kory!" Kae'rena whispered, desperate to capture her attention. She was ignored, and her only recourse was to slide slightly over and elbow her gently in the ribs.

"What?!" she snapped

"Imperials," Kae'rena replied, paying no heed to the aggression in her voice. Now was not the time to be overly sensitive. "Looks like whatever is happening, is happening now!" Kae'rena's mind and body were once again enslaved by her terrible fears, as the latest disaster of her life presented itself. Unexpectedly, she felt the sudden grasp of Kory's arm around her torso, who whispered to her,

"We'll make it."

She interpreted this as Kory's assurance that she would get over her misspoken comment. While this did lift a small burden from Kae'rena's troubled mind, it was not quite sufficient to forestall the growing dread brought on by being finally faced with the inevitable. The lead officer waved casually to the specialist at the control console, who had risen to attention pursuant to keying in a command at his control station. The energy field lowered and the four guards passed through the entrance, but fortunately had been drawn first to the larger group of prisoners.

"Kory," Kae'rena whispered.

"Yes?"

"What about the Professor?"

"Who?"

"The Prof–. Never mind, just be ready."

Kae'rena turned to her right, on which side the Professor had been seated. She began to nudge him, encouraging him to wake up. He did not stir. She didn't want to shake him too roughly on account of his physical condition, but was being forced into taking more aggressive action. She shot a glance over to the guards on the other side of the cell, and saw they had nearly completed chaining up the other slaves. Time was running out. Once again, Kae'rena turned to the Professor. She shook him with elevated levels of vigour, before grabbing his jaw in her left hand to shake it. Yet, he was not ready to re-join the waking world. "If only I were able to be unconscious for this," Kae'rena wished to herself. "Kory," she said aloud this time, but at no higher volume than a gust of wind. "He's not waking up."

"Is he dead?" Kory urged.

"No. He's still breathing," she reported, which Kory was relieved to hear. "We are going to need to carry him. You take his left side, and I'll take his right. I wouldn't be surprised if the imperials just chain him to the column, and make us to drag him along the ground, otherwise."

Kae'rena and Kory took standing positions at their assigned sides of the Professor. They placed their respective arms around his upper body with a sufficient stretch to allow his underarms to rest on each of their straining forearms. At last, they carefully hoisted him to his feet, moments before the guards came to chain them to the column. Walking and carrying someone would be difficult enough without the added complication of shackles. Determined to cover as much of the gap as possible unimpeded, they met the guard at approximately the middle of the holding cell.

The imperial paid it no mind that they were supporting another prisoner's weight. He simply performed his duty, and shackled all three of them, leading a chain through the foot shackle rings and joining them to the rest of the group. Outside the cell, the officer was heard ordering the specialists to form escort positions, causing them to be ushered out and towards the hatch. Kae'rena and Kory had accustomed themselves quite well by now to bearing their burden. Surprisingly, however, as they passed the officer, he ordered the group to halt. Immediately, the guards brought the group to a complete stop. Kae'rena looked over at Kory with uncertainty, fearing the officer was going to rid himself of the lame man, who was only slowing down the advance. One clean blaster shot to the head would have done the job. Instead, he moved up alongside Kory, and tilted his head over to her. Apparently, he wished to speak.

"Our friend is a good man," he began to whisper to her. "He chose years ago the hardship and sacrifice of military life to save you, but a soldier can only have one loyalty. He could not prevent this. Do not blame him for it." The officer stepped away from Kory. He looked over to the specialist at the head of the line, and ordered them to resume the march.

The line of prisoners began to move forward, passing through the hatchway and down the poorly lit corridor. With so many of them concentrated along the narrow walkway, the repetitive clanking noise from the metal gratings underfoot resounded with even greater intensity than before. Kae'rena, occasioning a glance at Kory, felt as though she were in a vomitorium except for that she was heading into a disaster rather than escaping one. The line moved slowly forward, while Kory deliberately kept her face hidden from Kae'rena's view as she struggled along. Eventually, they reached the antechamber to the corridor, which led to the detention block, and in accordance with human biology, the sudden switch from poor light to the opposite extreme presented a temporary blinding effect.

Kae'rena's eyes recovered more quickly this time, although it seemed it was taking Kory longer to adjust. Being at the tail of the column had its advantages on account of them always being able to rely on the guidance of the prisoner ahead of them. It was, however, not necessary for determining that they were not being led back out of the Command Bunker, but down a long service corridor, terminating in a huge, rectangular chasm in the wall. Although she was not the best judge of distances or dimensions, she guessed the aperture was about four metres across, three meters deep and three metres high and apparently the entry point for a gigantic access shaft to a higher level.

Ahead of them, Kae'rena saw the lead specialist toggle a red wall-panel, immediately adjacent to the empty space. A second later, a loud grinding sound could be heard, as gears and hydraulics roared to life. "Sounds like a lift is being called, Kae," Kory whispered, softly. Kae'rena was somewhat startled by her initiation of dialogue, as she hadn't said, nor seemed likely to say, anything since that officer had accosted her in the detention block.

"I think you are right Kory," Kae'rena replied, "and look, there seems to be light shining down the shaft."

"I see it," Kory confirmed. "This must be a service lift to the roof of the compound. Do you think . . .?"

"I do," she said. "We must be on our way to boarding some sort of transport."

By the time the two of them had finished conversing, the lift had come into view, and it was not long before it came to rest, slightly elevated from the floor. The guards began herding the group of slaves onto the platform. Mindful of the minor step ahead of them, Kae'rena and Kory looked at each other, and without words communicated their understanding of what was to be their next obstacle. Making themselves ready as they were drawn closer, they concentrated all their resolve and strength to lift the Professor high enough for him to clear the step onto the lift surface. Kae'rena was sure she heard tearing cloth, which was not implausible. Their tattered bodies could only take so much punishment for one day, and given the amount of tension that their weakening arms had been forced to sustain, they both were reaching their breaking point.

It was not long before the entire population of Detention Block B was loaded onto the service lift. The four specialists had continued their close escort, leaving their officer to toggle the control panel, sending life to the inner workings of the device. The low groan of mechanics at work filled the air once again, as the lift was sent slowly and steadily towards the roof.

Kory felt it first. The Professor had recovered sufficiently to start making such involuntary movements as one transcending sleep to reach consciousness. "Kae!" Kory said excitedly. "He's waking up."

"Perfect timing," Kae'rena sighed, for she considered the timing to be anything but perfect. Waking to the sight of being raised up towards a blinding light, where one's last memory was being thrashed within an inch of one's life, was very likely to induce metaphysical panic. By what means were they going to keep him calm sufficiently long enough to update him on current events was beyond her. Convincing him that they were not the enemy, until his own senses drew conclusions of their own, was their only option.

The lift continued its assent, and the two friends found themselves fighting to maintain their grip on the Professor, who had escalated his resistance to a version of thrashing and struggling. Kae'rena had used the few precious seconds prior to rehearse what she ought to say, and was sufficiently prepared for explaining the events subsequent to the Professor's lashing. Before she could begin, though, Kory took the liberty to speak. "It's alright. You're with friends. We've got you," she assured him.

The Professor, most probably on account of Kory's maternal and caring delivery, decided to relax himself. This was a wise decision, Kae'rena thought, as his struggle would likely only lead to him exsanguinating. Although he had regained some control, he preferred to keep his eyes closed. It may have been on account of the light, but Kae'rena suspected from personal experience that it was just easier for the mind to focus on supressing pain, where any extraneous sensory processing was kept to a minimum.

Much to the relief of Professor's bearers, he finally found the ability to support some of his own weight. He had been significantly weakened from his ordeal, but Kory was thankful for even the slightest reduction in the physical demands placed upon her. She noted that her companion had coped far more easily than she had. Kae'rena, relatively speaking, was fairly strong for a slave, who had been overworked and underfed. Kory, on the other hand, immediately recognised the irony that, despite having received clandestine food and water rations from Marrkus in addition to less demanding labour assignments, her physical activities had not had quite the same side-effect.

At last the dejected group of individuals reached the end of their assent. Kory had been correct. They were now atop the Command Bunker. The string of prisoners, which had oriented itself in a serpentine arrangement, were immediately beckoned forward by the guard escort. As the column straightened, Kae'rena's field of vision was cleared of its obstacles either side of her, and so she immediately scanned her environment. She had passed the Command Bunker on a daily basis on her way back to the cages, although she had only ever been able to see what was at the very edge. That was about to change.

It made perfect sense, and would have only been unnoticed by the completely blind. "Typical Imperial efficiency," she thought to herself, "of course their military architects would design mobile outposts with the central command structure able to act as a landing pad."

It was never dark on Korriban. Relative to other worlds, it was always bright, but the light had diminished considerably since she had been dragged to the detention block. While parts of it were obscured, Kae'rena had sufficient imagination to identify a circular series of landing beams directly ahead. Energy was only lent to each section for a moment. Similar to the idea of the same drop of blood being pumped in an infinite loop around a circulatory system, the comparable movement of a single photon through the series of landing lights created a strange hypnotic effect. Her eyes autonomously followed the source of illumination, as it transitioned from point to point. Becoming entranced, her mind conjured the image of a wild animal guarding its dispatched prey, located at the very centre of the perimeter of its patrol path.

The entire sight accentuated magnificently the majesty of the engineering on which it forced all, approaching, to focus. At the centre of the landing circle, resting solidly on its landing gear, was an Imperial transport shuttle. Kae'rena new the design well. It was precisely the same class of vessel she had been shuttled around in whenever she had been re-assigned from one labour camp to another. She noted to herself her unexpected reaction, as she felt the familiarity ease her apprehension. Once more she took in the sight of the light grey durasteel hull, proudly presenting the Imperial emblem. The fuselage was about five meters high, ten metres across and, from what Kae'rena could tell, about seven metres deep. It was, however, not a simple right-angled, rectangular-looking box. This particular vessel had been optimised for functioning in an atmosphere, and as a result the engineers had considered factors such as wind shear, drag coefficients, kinetic friction, and all the other pertinent physics. The end result was a trapezoidal profile with a slight curvature, which was not visible from a distance but only apparent on close inspection. It merely appeared to be a flat surface, proceeding down and out at a roughly forty-five degree angle, terminating very near the surface of the platform.

On the dorsal section, there was a large cylindrical apparatus, which appeared to sink into a groove, out of view, as it terminated shortly passed the midpoint of the craft. From this fixture, two wings extended, saluting the dusty-orange sky. It housed the mechanics, which connected the wings to the fuselage, while at the same time guarding the power conduits, from which it drew power. For landing, these wings were rotated up, but Kae'rena recalled that during flight they would be rotated downwards to rest flush with the flanks of the ships.

The wings, themselves, were also trapezoidal in design. Unlike the grey hull, the only pictorial feature of which was the Imperial emblem, the wings had sections interspersed between the alloy frames consisting of angled metallic lattice structures. Although Kae'rena knew they would most likely be made of some variant of the commonplace durasteel compound, the effect of so many shadows concentrated in one space made the wing appear to have sections of black on grey to contrast the blandness of the remainder of the vessel. In all, it was simple, functional and efficient.

The only feature, of which Kae'rena was always intuitively weary, was the pilot section. Attributing it to her always being reminded of a the head and beak of a shyrack, a large reptilian-like bird native to Korriban, she once again could not escape finding this final component of the craft to have an incisive, vicious quality. This was only amplified by the viewports at the very front of the craft. On account of the extreme brightness of the planet's suns, these had been constructed of an extremely dark transparent material, and made the craft appear to have shut ophthalmic apertures. In her experience, one could often determine the nature of a person or beast by the look in their eyes, and reflected that her inability to know the character of this great metal bird, owing to its refusal to share its gaze with her, was a probable source of her disquiet. Her contemplations on the matter were permanently interrupted, however, as Kory exclaimed to both her and the Professor, "I can't do this anymore."

"What?" Kae'rena asked, the desperation in Kory's voice having caused her to refocus her attention rapidly away from the great machine.

"Kae, I can't carry him anymore. I am going to collapse, and then who's going to carry me?"

"We are nearly on board, Kory," Kae'rena replied, encouraging her to hold on a little longer. It was for unnecessary in the end, as the Professor communicated his pardon.

"Think. Manage," he coughed out, moving his head back and forth in apparent confidence of his own ability. "One help. Still weak," he ended to Kae'rena.

"Rest Kory," Kae'rena concluded, "I'll help him until we board."

She helped the Professor as best she could, who was able to support significantly more of his own weight when he took it one step at a time. Kae'rena was in agreement that he needed a facilitator, and noticing that he only would open his eyes intermittently, believed she ought to add navigator to her list of assumed responsibilities. Fortunately for them both, it was not too great a distance from the lift shaft to where the shuttle was docked, and the final leg of the journey was completed without any irretrievable breakdown.

Two of the specialists had now taken up rear guard positions immediately behind Kae'rena and her two companions, while the group stood in close proximity to the aft section the aircraft. One specialist remained on guard at the head of the column, while Kory pointed out to her that the fourth had moved to the far side, appearing to be speaking into his wrist-bound device.

A few moments passed before everyone's attention was drawn specifically to the shuttle. A ramp was being extended horizontally from its housing, allowing the increasing torque created by its extension to bring the one end to rest on the landing platform. Shortly thereafter a hatch was opened, and a woman dressed in a black flight suit appeared. Neither Kory nor Kae'rena could see her face, as she also wore headgear with a visor covering the upper half, save for her nose. The only significant part of her which was visible was her mouth.

About halfway down the ramp she looked to the specialist standing apart from the group as he went diligently about his duty, and smiled at him. "Well, at least something's going my way," she said. She sounded genuinely happy. The specialist, who was not expecting anything more than a polished professional courtesy, looked up at the pilot. He clearly recognised the voice, as he smiled back at her.

"Rylee," he responded, with a tone suggesting he had now dispensed with all military propriety, and was addressing a friend rather than a colleague. "What bad luck saw you pull transport duty?"

"I won a bet," she said, wearing an alluring smile. Kae'rena was struggling to understand her. She could hear her speak well enough, however she seemed to be omitting the ends of some words, and eliding several others into one. Whilst to her it was a substantially incomprehensible variation of Galactic Basic, the specialist had no trouble in taking her meaning.

"You won a bet?" he questioned, emphasising the outcome, which apparently did not make sense to him.

"Yeah," Rylee said. "We have a bunch new pilots in from Kaas, and Misha bet me I wouldn't floor the next flyboy who suggested we share a bunk for the night."

The specialist had begun laughing, "Mish, the old boy. We always said those good looks of yours were nothing but trouble."

"Well, my C.O. certainly thinks so. She busted me down to this gig for two duty cycles," she said. "Apparently, the new upstarts need time to 'settle down'. This way I am off base, and not raising any pulses, she says."

"C.O.s just don't like competition from their junior officers," the specialist larked, trying to raise her spirits.

"You're terrible," Rylee laughed. The specialist's light-heartedness had had the desired effect. "So, this lot ready to go?"

"All ready," the specialist confirmed, gesturing to his unit to proceed with the embarkation of the prisoners. "Any idea what this is all about? This must be the third consignment of slaves we've rounded up and sent off." Kae'rena grabbed Kory in excitement. The first piece of the puzzle was potentially within their grasp, and she wanted Kory to listen as well, lest she, herself, miss something. They could piece it all together once aboard.

"No idea, Aedan. I really don't," Rylee replied. Kae'rena's heart sank with disappointment, but continued to listen with a dying hope for something pertinent. The column began to draw forward as the three junior specialists ushered the slaves into the shuttle. Kory, ahead of her, was already on the ramp. They were running out of time. If any useful information was to be learnt, it would need to be in the next ten seconds at most.

"All I know is I've been shuttling around a pureblood for the last ten days all over Korriban," Rylee continued. Kae'rena felt the chain pull her onto the Professor. She had been ignoring the progress of the group, and it had now finally caught up with her. She delayed her ascent onto the ramp until the very last second, greedy to hear more of what Aedan and Rylee were saying. A further delay, however, would result in her collapsing onto the Professor and landing them both on the surface of the ramp. She did not want to aggravate his injuries or fall into disfavour with any of the guards, and was forced to make the bitter choice to abandon her espionage. She did hear the pilot say to Aedan that her passenger had not been very communicative, but it was the last thing before she climbed the ramp and boarded the shuttle to begin commiserating with her comrades.

The interior of the craft was divided into two halves. Extending from the bulkhead on either side, a long piece of solid metal protruded. It was a bench for passengers, and was where the slaves were to be seated. As they were all still chained up, the head of the column had been led along the left side, and, only upon reaching the forward section, was directed back down the right. There was sufficient capacity in the shuttle for twice the current complement of prisoners, and so the group only came to rest once Kae'rena, the final slave in the chain of slaves, cleared enough distance to cover herself at the aft end of the left bench. Shortly thereafter, the remainder of the prisoners took their positions with a cacophony of clinking metal chains.

In front of her, Kae'rena could see a row of removable metal gratings, underneath which, she expected, was storage space for gear and supplies, and possibly passenger baggage. In their case, they were all that was being transported, and as such the grating had remained closed.

The guards had disembarked, and left the group waiting. It had been a fair amount of time before the pilot came on board to recall the ramp and reseal the hatch. "What more had she and the specialist had to say," Kae'rena wondered. Immediately after Rylee had passed her and the Professor, in an act so typically inadvisably bold of her, Kory unreservedly enquired,

"Rylee, can you tell us where we are going?"

Rylee turned around to the source of the sound and found Kory's eyes, apparently not bothered in the slightest at being addressed by a complete stranger. "Right now, we are heading to the Korriban Headquarters of the Imperial Reclamation Service," she said, smiling at Kory, without any sign of derision, sadism or hostility.

"Thank you," Kory answered. "And by the way, you are definitely competition." Rylee smiled warmly back at her, and chuckled to herself, before beginning to walk to the cockpit. Kae'rena waited until the pilot had gone off out of sight, before turning to her left and leaning slightly out to look past the Professor at Kory.

"What was that?!" she demanded, with a hint of irritation in her voice.

"Don't be jealous, Kae," Kory replied, lacing her true opinion with an innocent measure of satire. "You're pretty, too. Mysteriously blonde, atypically tall, superbly muscular, penetrating pale-blue eyes. You'd definitely get a second look. And if by some miracle we gain an ablution facility to clear the dirt from your hair and face, maybe even a third." Kae'rena had already formulated her response, but before she could voice her words, the pilot came in over the intercom.

"Prepare for transit. Flight time, ten minutes thirty eight seconds. Mark." Within a split second, the engines were put to full power to overcome gravitational inertia. They surged to life with an awesome growl, before softening as they reached cruising altitude. The broadcast from Rylee and the roar of the engine had been sufficiently short for Kae'rena not to lose her train of thought.

"Your legendary 'honeyed words', Little One," Kae'rena replied in kind. "Don't be ridiculous, Kory. I'm not jealous, but at some point you being so personal with our masters is not going to end well for either of us. At some point, bravery is not bravery, it is foolishness."

"Kae, simply because the imperials wear a uniform does not change that they are people on the inside," Kory began to say in her defence. "The non-human species you probably can't take for granted, but everyone enjoys having something good said about them, and, speaking as a woman, especially a woman." Although the Professor was still barely able to keep his eyes open, resting in his preferred seated position had allowed him to regain sufficient strength to venture his opinion.

"Women only care about the potential to inspire praise," he pontificated. Kory glared at him for a moment, appearing to be considering some sarcastic reply.

"Only as soon as I understand exactly what you just said, I'm sure I'll be impressed by your feminine insight, Professor." Whether it was a euphemised version or not was indeterminate. Irrespective, Kae'rena wanted to avoid at all costs the resumed tension between these two strong-minded individuals.

"Kory, don't start with him again, please," she implored.

"Fine." Kory relented. "But it doesn't matter. 'Honeyed Words' don't lose us anything. She answered me once, and when the time soon comes we need her to answer again, you'll thank me." Kae'rena perceived a subtly in Kory's expressed belief, but was unable to extrapolate her meaning entirely.

"What are you trying to say, Kory?"

"Kae, didn't you hear what Rylee said to me?" Kory shot back.

"We're being taken to the Imperial Reclamation Service," Kae'rena replied. Kory was enormously surprised at her friend, who had not noticed perhaps an even greater revelation. It was now her turn to play the role of the teacher, speaking slowly and deliberately.

"Yes, Kae'rena, but what else did she say? Think again."

"Kory?!" Kae'rena exclaimed, frustrated by what she perceived as a condescending attitude, "Just tell –"

"She means the 'right now' part," an intensely impatient voice chimed.

"Very good, Professor," Kory praised.

"Why do you keep calling me that?" he demanded.

"Search me. It wouldn't have been my choice," she said, intending a dual interpretation. Kae'rena turned to the Professor, seeing no harm in admitting the truth of it.

"Well, we didn't know what your name is, and we had to call you something. 'Professor' seemed a good opt–." Kae'rena was not able to complete her thought. She felt preposterous trying to explain how her mind had leapt to such an alternative, and so resigned any attempt. "I suppose it does not matter anymore. What is your name, friend?" she asked.

"Niloc," was the response.

"Niloc," she repeated. "I'm Kae'rena, and she is Kory."

"I think he's figured that out for himself by now, Kae," Kory pointed out. "What is important right now is that while we may be on our way to an Imperial base, we still have no idea where we are ultimately headed."

"I take the point, Kory," Kae'rena assured her, "But I did overhear Rylee telling the Aedan, the guard, that she had been transporting a 'pureblood' all over the planet. Does that mean anything to either of you?"

Niloc kept silent. Kory appeared to be recalling some reference, mouthing the word to herself silently and searching for the answer in the space in front of her. Finally, she gave an indication of triumph. "Yes!" she began. "When Marrkus and I were still on Nar Shaddaa, the Imperial-Hutt Treaty was the hot topic, so we spoke often about the Empire. I remember him telling me about the Sith, who were the original species inhabiting Korriban. According to ancient Imperial History, a sect of Force-users from the Coreworlds Region had questioned their order's canons, and rebelled. They exiled themselves and journeyed into deep space, eventually settling on Korriban."

"That really happened?" Niloc cut in. "I heard stories told that a group calling themselves the Dark Jedi colonised Korriban, and where the ones who originally built all these ruined monuments and tombs. Personally, I never cared about who built them, only about who was being made to dig them up."

"Well, whatever they called themselves, the story goes they encountered the Sith, and were enamoured with their societal construct, which was principled on the fulfilment of wants and desires through the attainment of individual strength and power, rather than a system of law regulating interaction. They easily subjugated them. They learnt their secrets, exactly how to manipulate them, and ruled over them for centuries, calling themselves the Sith Lords."

Kae'rena had become so enthralled by Kory's recorded history of the purebloods that any latent anger at the temporary aggression in their dialogue had evaporated. Hoping that showing an active interest in the subject matter would encourage its further discussion, Kae'rena interjected, "But that was centuries ago. What happened to them? I've seen several alien species on Korriban, but none that were referred to as sith purebloods."

Before Niloc or Kory could venture an answer, the moan of the shuttle engines intensified, and they felt the effect of the descent. A voice came over the intercom. "Prepare for landing. Countdown, ninety seconds. Mark."

Kae'rena felt a sense of appreciation for this pilot, who saw fit to treat imperial slaves with the courtesy of human dignity. Kory's assertion regarding military officers found its way again into her thoughts, but the finer points of that discussion would need to wait. By her estimation, they had another brief minute to speak freely among themselves, before being overrun with military personnel once more.

"Kory," she continued, "what happened to the purebloods?"

"Marrkus was not entirely sure how or why," she replied, "But the fact is they died out over the centuries since the first arrival of the Dark Jedi. While ages ago their population were abundant, he said that in the modern Empire, purebloods have surrounding them a grand aura of notoriety and mystique."

Kory's final comment regarding the purebloods had a most remarkable effect on Kae'rena's mental state. She felt a wrench at her soul, coming deep from within. It was an emotion, an intuition, an instinct, and they were all screaming a truth to her, which her conscious mind had not yet concluded through rational discourse. "Mystique," she introspected, deciding to trust her feelings. "Mystique. Mystery. The Sith. Korriban. Monuments on Korriban. Ruin excavation. Mysterious people." Kae'rena paused for a moment, as her instincts once again took hold and directed her to examine her latest consideration closely. "Mysterious people? Mysterious person? Mysterious person! Could that be the answer to all this?"

"Niloc," Kae'rena gasped, drawing the unwanted attention of the other occupants of the shuttle.

"Yes?" he replied.

"Think carefully. Think back to the ruin excavation sites. Did you ever sense a presence, or feel as though someone or something was watching over you? Inspecting you, but saying nothing? It would have been recently, sometime during the last ten days?"

"Not that I can recall," Niloc replied.

"Think, Niloc. Are you sure?!" Kae'rena insisted. Unexpectedly, an answer came from across the divide, as one of the other prisoners addressed her.

"Yes. A visitation. Three days ago. Made me feel uneasy. Could hear it behind me, but it said nothing and did nothing." Kory had at this point lost the logical progression of the conversation.

"Kae, what are you all going on about?" she begged. Kae'rena was now absolutely sure of it. Some of the pieces fit together too perfectly to be mere coincidence.

"Kory," Kae'rena said, "Rylee told Aedan she has been transporting a pureblood to excavation sites all over Korriban, and the specialist said we are the third group of prisoners to be rounded up. I had a mysterious, unexplained encounter with someone earlier today, and he was not military. Now there's someone else who recalls a similar incident. That mysterious person must be this pureblood, and everyone, besides you, is being rounded up for some greater purpose involving him, or his masters."

"What you mean besides me?" Kory asked, almost as if she had been offended by her exclusion.

"You are not here because you are a slave. You were joined to this group because Marrkus' superiors consider you a threat to the integrity of his duties as a military officer, and wanted you out the way."

"You're insane. Marrkus would never do anything to hurt me."

"Never intentionally, no," Kae'rena conceded, "But his loyalty to you over his loyalty to the military is the cause of you being here. That is what the officer in the Detention Block was trying to tell you. He's the reason, but it is not his fault this that you are here with us."

Kae'rena's explanation of Kory's circumstances seemed to have extracted all the life from her. She sat perfectly still, furiously searching for ways to refute the argument placed before her. Shortly after silence had reclaimed its rule inside the shuttle, everyone was rocked from one side to another as the craft touched down on the landing pad, presumably at the Imperial Reclamation Service Headquarters. The engine noise began to subside, but was replaced by the light chortling of the prisoner, with whom Kae'rena had been talking. It struck her as being intended to mock her, and demanded to know the cause of his amusement.

"You are so easily manipulated by what you want the truth to be that you'll believe the most farfetched tale imaginable. And I find that highly comic."

"Damn this fool," Kae'rena cursed to herself, but let the incident pass on account of her inability to act, and unwillingness to dignify his psychological barrage with any ostensible discomfort.

As much as she wished the reality to be far from what she expected, every fibre of her being was telling her this was not her usual paranoia. If not even so cruel a mind game could sow a seed of doubt, she was determined to justify the faith she had placed in herself. The pilot had not yet withdrawn from the pilot section, but Kory drew Kae'rena's attention to the sound of the aft ramp being extended and the shuttle hatch being opened. She was one step closer to evaluating the accuracy of her intuition, but whether or not it was the final step was not possible to establish. She remained fearfully expectant as Rylee remained in the cockpit and did not show any signs of returning. Quite possibly, Kory would not have the opportunity again to speak to her, which led Kae'rena to a singular conclusion. Someone else was coming on board.


End file.
